Boy scout comes to rescue of Bolingbrook animal shelter

LEMONT – When Boy Scout Troop 49 member Brian Leahy of Lemont chose to help the Humane Haven Animal Shelter in Bolingbrook for his Eagle Scout Project, the timing could not have been better.

While Leahy was seeking approval from the Boy Scouts to collect kitty litter and dog food for the shelter, an April storm flooded the shelter, causing it to be evacuated. The animals were safely rescued, but the shelter lost all of its supplies.

“I was pretty surprised when I heard it had been flooded and excited,” Leahy said. “Excited that I could do something about it.”

Leahy canvassed Lemont with notices about his collection and arranged a shop-and-drop at Pet Supplies Plus in Bolingbrook.

The project was completed on June 8. Leahy collected 805 pounds of kitty litter, 815 pounds of dog food, 31 pounds of cat food and 31 pounds of kitten food.

He also converted additional contributions into almost $500 in gift cards to be used for pet supply purchases and received a $5,000 donation from a charitable foundation that wished to remain anonymous.

“[The project] was a lot of work, but other than that, not that hard,” Leahy said. “A lot of scouts and people helped out with it.”

Leahy has been a life-long animal lover and said he would like to continue to work with animal shelters in the future.

“I just like helping out with animals,” he said.

Leahy said he will continue to collect donations for the next couple of weeks. To make a donation, call 630-257-0130.

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